First time brewing with Specialty Malts

[johnlindgren]

I just brewed my 4th batch (an amber-ish pale ale)

I used 6 lbs of amber malt extract
1 lb of 60L crystal malt
2 oz kent golding hops
2 oz fuggles hops
1 oz liberty hops
dry ale yeast(safale us-05)

my question is that when I steeped the specialty malt, I steeped it for about 45 min through out the boiling process. Now, when I'm looking online I keep reading that I should steep it before I add the extracts and hops.

Am I going to ruin the batch besides maybe soaking up some extra flavors from the hops or amber extract?

 

[Yooper]

You left the bag of specialty grains floating in there through the boil?

If you did, it's not ideal but you probably won't have any issues. Next time, take the grain bag out before the liquid temperature is 170 degrees though!

 

[NorCalAngler]

I will add that exposing the grain to boiling temperatures may have extracted bitter compounds from the grain called tannins. If your brew is a bit more astringent than you expected then you will at least have a good idea why.

 

[Beer_Guy]

You should not have boiled the grains.

Since you did then you will have a VERY astringent brew. Get some gelatin and treat it as soon as it completes fermenting. This will help settle out the astringent particles and clear up the beer too.

I did something like this and it was after bottle carbing I found out. I popped the caps, added a solution of Gelatin and a little primer and recapped. They still have a slight astringency but are now drinkable.

 

[johnlindgren]

hmm okay, I was hoping since I only used 1 pound that it wouldn't affect it too much. I will look into the gelatin solution.
Thanks for your help, I made a CDA and used Karaffa and chocalte malts and was told that I could boil that in my wort. So, I figured it was the same idea for the crystal malts. Guess I assumed wrong.

Now, if I do a 2-row malt, I need to mash that in an oven, correct? I can't just steep those?

 

[Yooper]

hmm okay, I was hoping since I only used 1 pound that it wouldn't affect it too much. I will look into the gelatin solution.
Thanks for your help, I made a CDA and used Karaffa and chocalte malts and was told that I could boil that in my wort. So, I figured it was the same idea for the crystal malts. Guess I assumed wrong.

Now, if I do a 2-row malt, I need to mash that in an oven, correct? I can't just steep those?

I wouldn't worry about adding gelatin. I think it'll be fine, because you used amber malt extract which has some crystal as well that may "cover" any astringency that occurred. I wouldn't worry too much at all about it, but would recommend not doing it again! You don't ever want to boil grains, whether it's crystal malt, carafa, chocolate, etc. You steep no higher than 170! If you didn't notice a problem with boiling the carafa, you shouldn't notice a problem with the crystal. Again, it's not the "right" thing to do, but it probably won't harm the beer much.

You can steep 2-row, sort of. It must be mashed- but a mash is very much like a steep. The key is to use the correct amount of water and the correct temperature. I never did it in an oven, just in my regular brew pot. As an example, you can take 2 pounds of 2-row and add it to 3 quarts of 160 degree water. (That's 1.5 quarts of water per pound). Then, stir well, and check the temperature. You want to be in the 150-155 range. If you are, you can cover the pot and wait 45 minutes. That's a mash! It's just like steeping (again, don't boil the grains!) but with a specific amount of water and a specific temperature. "Under 170" doesn't cut it for mashing.

 

[Docjowles]

Just to clarify, you do the steeping phase before the boil. Basically you want to heat the water to the 160 F range, then put the grains in there for about half an hour. When that's done, pull the bag out and let all the water drip into the pot without squeezing it. Toss/compost the grain and bring the pot to a boil and continue adding extract and hops.

I don't think your beer will be undrinkable but it will not be what the recipe intended

 

[baystatebrew]

yeah next time do not leave the steeping grains in the boiling water. steeping grains are like steeping tea. take em out before the water starts boiling. you want those steeping grains to sit there as you work up to the boil, ten take em out around 160-200 degrees F. the water will boil at 212 F and you want the steeping grains out before you get to that temp.

the reason is that the crushed grains you used contain the grain husks. those husks can release harsh tannins into the wort once the water starts boiling. you'll be fine but if you left those steeping grains in the wort throughout the entire 45 min boil you might detect some harsh tannin flavor in your end product. you probly won't notice it though and will be fine. next time just take out the steeping grains just before the h20 boils.

 

[johnlindgren]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone. They make me feel a little better that I haven't completely ruined an entire batch, but I'm still hitting myself in the head over making that mistake and not doing more research before brewing.
So would the general consensus to be to hold off on the gelatin, or should I go ahead and buy some just in case?

And I'm going tot alk to my local homebrew supply store here in Reno, because I got a CDA recipe from them (of course I tweaked it a little bit) and it specifically says to boil the chocolate and karaffa in with the wort. Maybe it's a different style malt?
I bottled the Cascadian today and a sample didn't taste bitter or sour at all, but as I've learned everything changes with age. So, I'll see what happens.